The contract with Lithuania continues for one year in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

VFS Global will now also serve Lithuania in Kosovo, through a new Visa Application Centre in Pristina.

“We have been associated with the two countries’ foreign ministries since 2013 and are delighted to have been given the opportunity to continue offering them our visa services through these contract extensions,” says VFS chief of business development Chris Dix.

“Not only does the agreement renewal reinforce the two governments’ faith in VFS service standards, but it also strengthens our company’s position as the leading visa-services partner to European Union member-states.”

VFS Global is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions. With 2469 application centres in 129 countries and 161 million applications processed as of December 31, VFS last year signed contracts with other seven governments.